disabled employee advice

[Jasmine]

I first started working for royal mail nearly 3 years ago - I was up front from the start that I had a mental health disability. For the first 2 and a half years I coped really well in the job and found it suited my ability and I was good at it. I had not a single day off sick and I don't think anyone would have known from my work I had a disability as I coped really well. However as the changes come in I have found it increasingly hard to manage, getting more and more tired and stressed until after xmas I had to call in sick. Immediately I had loads of intervention from royal mail - had a medical on my second day of sickness, stress assessment test, counselling, 2 meetings with the area manager all within my first week off, despite having a doctors note. After a few weeks of pressure I agreed to return but at a different office which has already had its p&l revisions etc. My hours don't fit in for a start (25 hours) and I found the rounds so incredibly exhausting I am back at square one and off sick. What I now realise is that the job has changed beyond my capabilities and I don't see a way to fix this. I know it won't take long for royal mail to get their evidence together to sack me I suppose for incompetency, although I also know their bullying and harassment approach to me being off sick has not helped. Has anyone else been in a similar position or got any advice?

Thank you.

[hampshireman]

I first started working for royal mail nearly 3 years ago - I was up front from the start that I had a mental health disability. For the first 2 and a half years I coped really well in the job and found it suited my ability and I was good at it. I had not a single day off sick and I don't think anyone would have known from my work I had a disability as I coped really well. However as the changes come in I have found it increasingly hard to manage, getting more and more tired and stressed until after xmas I had to call in sick. Immediately I had loads of intervention from royal mail - had a medical on my second day of sickness, stress assessment test, counselling, 2 meetings with the area manager all within my first week off, despite having a doctors note. After a few weeks of pressure I agreed to return but at a different office which has already had its p&l revisions etc. My hours don't fit in for a start (25 hours) and I found the rounds so incredibly exhausting I am back at square one and off sick. What I now realise is that the job has changed beyond my capabilities and I don't see a way to fix this. I know it won't take long for royal mail to get their evidence together to sack me I suppose for incompetency, although I also know their bullying and harassment approach to me being off sick has not helped. Has anyone else been in a similar position or got any advice?

Thank you.

Jasmine;

I am not qualified to help you (there are others that I am sure will respond). But I know that if I were in your office I would do something about this.

This is appalling behaviour by RM Management (I use that term advisedly - as they are not real Managers)


Speak to your Rep; call the HelpLine re Bullying etc , etc.

[Jasmine]

Thank you for replying. I have had advice which said I am covered as a disabled employee and royal mail should make "reasonable adjustments" to help me to work. However the adjustments I require are not available within the company - I wanted to work 4 days and know my rota in advance and be on the same walk - not totally impossible requests in my opinion but also am told not possible within the company. The other office was the only alternative and was thought the p&l method would help as less weight for me. However I cannot work 5 days of working over every day (as I say my hours don't fit and once out in a van with someone else its hard to cut off). Plus the stress of the low morale, the tiredness from what is an exhausting job and the worry over what is to happen in the future has taken too much of a toll on me. I have been told that there is no way they have followed sickness policy and therefore I would have a good case against them. However my main concern right now is that I know I am about to lose my job at a time when I am simply not well. I don't see a way for me to return, only that due to all their changes I must now leave.

[Darren Bent]

Don't leave the job, keep a record of management activity so you can do them for dismissal if this happens. Also keep at it, it will get easier over next few months due to summer.

I wouldn't leave the job until you get another one as I know how hard to get job as a disabled person.

Good Luck.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

I wanted to work 4 days and know my rota in advance and be on the same walk - not totally impossible requests in my opinion but also am told not possible within the company.

If your in the Union try and get the Area H&S rep involved as I think at least 2 of your requests are certainly possible (set duty and rota in advance and unchanged) - the 4 day one may not be possible if you were the only one in the DO on that but if there were others I couldn't see there being a problem if there was a vacancy in their duty cycle.

[alloria]

I am in exactly the same situation! I have Aspergers Syndrome, and I too am going through the same thing. I will be keeping a close eye on this.

[krussel]

that the job has changed beyond my capabilities

I find myself becoming quite annoyed at RM when i read a post like yours

The fact you managed 2.5 years without any sick is simply lost in this firm, what a terrible way to treat people.

The part about the job changing and going beyond your capabilities is another sad fact of RM life. We have a 40 year man who has gone long term sick because he has a re-occuring injury and cannot cope with a 4 hour delivery.

I wish you the best of luck and really hope that this works out

[enzio]

all royailmail does is s#### on you now i got took in today for a 1stage warning for being of sick with a disability befor that i had not been of sick in 4 years did they gave a f#### did the hell

[Jasmine]

Thank you for your replies and it helps to know I am not alone although really it isn't good that people such as myself are in this situation.
My own manager could not make any commitment to me regards the rota (which is done less than a week in advance) or me working the same hours/walk each week. The area manager did try to find another office where I could do just one walk all the time but there are no vacancies for me. At my own office I have only moved up the seniority 3 places in 3 years as so many staff leave but are not replaced. I know my own manager does simply not have the skill to manage me and I think it has been easier to lose me, even though I know I am a good worker, than to meet any challenges that my disorder now brings up. I am not really sure how to look for a solution but I am certain that the letters/phonecalls to harrass me will begin again now so I will need to find a resolution. I fear I will just end up out of a job in the near future. It doesn't feel good as I know the reason I am unwell now is the poor management of me and that with some extra care I could still be a good worker but feel royal mail would rather give up on me. Deep down I know I should fight my case, but I can't let them take away anymore of my health.

[liamlayor]

Don't let them make you leave. Contact these people who will advise you on the correct course of action

http://www.dls.org.uk/Rights/cases/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

they are disability lawyers who will help decide if you have a case. It's a charity so there is no cost to you and the dls people will also be able to represent you in a Tribunal, if needed.

Good Luck, don't walk away, I feel for you. Don't delay, you only have 3 months less a day from the date of the harassment/discrimination to submit a claim to the Employment Tribunal but the dls people will sort out all that for you if you have a case.

[smokerjim]

Jasmine, have you considered moving away from deliveries? Maybe you could ask your manager if there is any chance of getting a job in the office ( RLE, MT office, audit / QoS, room of doom ), or if not, see if you can get a transfer to your local MC ( yes it's a bummer not going out anymore, but imo what you want is stability, and working indoors would give you that ). Also get onto your area H&S rep ( it's what he's there for ).....but please, please, please don't give up, cos lazy, feckless managers will have won again, and next time someone goes to them for their help, they will be left to fend for themselves or get sacked.......even if they do sack you, you have more than enough to take them to the cleaners and get your job back on your terms, and then they might learn that management means more than "turn up, get the mail out, piss off home"

One last thing Jasmine, I have depression ( nothing too heavy, but enough to get me into CBT & a head shrinker ), if you ever want to get things off your back, pm me

[Jasmine]

Don't let them make you leave. Contact these people who will advise you on the correct course of action

http://www.dls.org.uk/Rights/cases/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

they are disability lawyers who will help decide if you have a case. It's a charity so there is no cost to you and the dls people will also be able to represent you in a Tribunal, if needed.

Good Luck, don't walk away, I feel for you. Don't delay, you only have 3 months less a day from the date of the harassment/discrimination to submit a claim to the Employment Tribunal but the dls people will sort out all that for you if you have a case.

Thank you for that link - have had a look and sent off the enquiry so will let you know what they advise.

Thank you also for all the advise and support. From what I know locally getting a transfer to the mail centre is like getting to the end of the rainbow and just impossible. You are right - what I do need is stability and to just know what I am doing.

[General Mannerheim]

Nothing surprises me any more with these Royal Fail managers,I wonder how many of these managers where sent the recent memo about Mental Health and good practises in the workplace. not many unless The Courier or The Voice was in town.

[Dorset Plodder]

Keep your chin up Jasmine It's not you it's them. Sounds like you've had some good advice, can't offer you anything more, but don't make it easy for them. Fight them every inch of the way and Good Luck!

[andy2007]

Jasmine, have you considered moving away from deliveries? Maybe you could ask your manager if there is any chance of getting a job in the office ( RLE, MT office, audit / QoS, room of doom ), or if not, see if you can get a transfer to your local MC ( yes it's a bummer not going out anymore, but imo what you want is stability, and working indoors would give you that ). Also get onto your area H&S rep ( it's what he's there for ).....but please, please, please don't give up, cos lazy, feckless managers will have won again, and next time someone goes to them for their help, they will be left to fend for themselves or get sacked.......even if they do sack you, you have more than enough to take them to the cleaners and get your job back on your terms, and then they might learn that management means more than "turn up, get the mail out, piss off home"

One last thing Jasmine, I have depression ( nothing too heavy, but enough to get me into CBT & a head shrinker ), if you ever want to get things off your back, pm me

I'm not sure there's any 4 day duties left in the MCs or RDCs, although I could be wrong. But it would mean that you'd be able to work with a group of people, rather than being left to cope on your own for hours, on a delivery.

I too, have had a lot of problems with RM over my own disability. And it was only after my case reached my Area Reps, that I got much help. Now that's no reflection on the Local Reps. They did everythying they could. But the Area ones are better trained, and have more experience. So they aren't bamboozled by Management loopholes. Particularly the one I kept encountering of "we only have to make reasonable adjustments, and what you're asking isn't reasonable. Because it'll cost the business too much". All I was asking was for a small adjustment to my shift, so I could go to therapy FFS! Once it reached Area level, all that quickly stopped, and I'm now back to working normally. And have been for quite a while now.

PLEASE don't let them push you out. That's what they want you to do. Because it's easier than accomodating someone with a disability. Even though the Law says they have to. Why should you loose your job, because of something which isn't your fault?
Should people with disabilities have to have second class jobs?
NO! Why should we have to miss out on working for a living, just like everyone else! Why should we have to loose our self respect, because of insensitive fools?!?

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) is there to protect us. And no amount of loopholes, and trickery, should be allowed to let RM, or any other Employer for that matter. Get away with penalising disabled people. Whether it's a Mental or Physical Disability, is beside the point. We're all Human Beings, and deserve to be treated as such!